I Hate Him
by linklover77
Summary: Cindy Vortex knew she hated Jimmy Neutron from the moment she set eyes on him. They were destined to be enemies, and nothing could ever change that.


**This is just a one-shot I've been working on between writing chapters for The Unwelcome House Guest. It's full of fluff, so all you J/Cers that love fluff...READ THIS! :D **

**OH! Cindy's thoughts are in italics by the way. **

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><p><em>I hate him.<em>

A young blonde girl was perched atop a bright, pink bed in a small yet shimmering bedroom. She sat with her legs stretched outward, somewhat sitting up with one of her arms extended against the foam mattress to prop her torso up. Her other hand grasped a photo of a young boy. She analyzed his ocean-blue eyes with her emerald ones and scoffed at his fudge-shaped hair compared to her perfect ponytail. Her signature bang fell to cover her eyes, and she brushed it back with one quick motion.

_I hate him._

The boy was her neighbor. His father was obsessed with ducks while his mother cleaned anything and everything. The boy claimed to be a genius. His inventions had brought this girl both harm and relief, but primarily the former. (The latter only followed occasionally after the harm had been done.) How he'd sucked her into his adventures was a mystery. She'd been on so many with him she had begun to lose count.

_I loathe him. _

His one "true" love didn't even care he existed. She was Miss Perfect, and everyone loved her. Correction: Almost everyone loved her. The blonde girl didn't. She hated this girl almost as much as she did the boy.

_I can't stand either of them._

If there was one thing this girl was good at, it was understanding herself. Hatred coursed through her small frame like poisonous venom. It had penetrated her heart and overridden her mind. She knew from the moment she had seen this boy that they were destined to be enemies. Both were bound to clash; there could only be one of them in this town.

_I wish he'd just leave._

She had been brought up to be the best. No one had ever heard of someone being better than Cindy Vortex. That was impossible. Her mother had told her that it was, and her mother had never been wrong before. She had warned her daughter to beware the boy's tricks, and the daughter cursed herself for not heeding her mother's words.

_That double-crossing fudgehead._

His family loved him even after he'd almost blown up the town. Heck, the town loved him even after he'd almost blown it up. His friends never questioned him, and his dog was truly man's best friend. Why did anyone still even like or listen to him? How many times had she warned the boy genius, and how many times had he gone through with his stupid plans anyway? He never listened to her; it was usually pure luck or pure stupidity that they were still alive.

_What an idiot_.

Speaking of idiots, what did he see in his two "amigops" anyway? One was chubby and odd while the other was mentally unstable. How could he even stand to have a normal conversation with them? They were below his intellectual level. He could do better than that. He could also do better than Betty Quinlan. What a joke. She was only playing with her food; she had no intention of eating it.

_I can't believe he can't see that._

You'd think even his big head would be able to grasp that simple fact. It showed just how much he didn't know. True, he was talented in the areas related to science and mathematics, but what he lacked was common sense. Cindy, however, had plenty of that.

_Why can't he acknowledge that?_

There were a lot of things he wouldn't acknowledge: Cindy was smart, talented, and useful. He pretended like she wasn't any of these, but she knew that deep down he knew.

_I wish I could know what goes through that big brain of his._

She had yelled at him the other day for one of his inventions exploding in her face. She regretted it as soon as he left, and he'd avoided her the entire day.

_I hate him._

Well, it had been her fault for yelling at him.

_He's still an idiot._

That really was no excuse.

_Fine, I'll call him! _

She grabbed the phone and dialed his number from memory. Once he had answered, she spoke in such a rush, he couldn't differentiate between when a word ended and a new word began.

"Cindy? Do you think you could start again? I didn't catch that."

"Listen, dork. I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier. That doesn't give you permission to ignore me."

"Do we have to talk about this now? I'm right in the middle—"

"Of an invention, I know." She rolled her eyes. "I'm still sorry, ok?"

"Ok."

"So…don't say I'm never nice to you."

"Well…"

"I said _don't_ say it!"

"Ok, Cin. Thanks for calling I guess."

"What? I go out of my way to call you, and you try to push my apology aside like it costs me nothing to say?"

"I'm not pushing you aside, Cindy."

"Whatever."

"Listen, I'm glad you called. Um…maybe you could stop by the lab real quick. I think it'd be better if we talked face to face."

"It's getting late, Neutron," Cindy noted as she glanced at her alarm clock, which was balancing on top of her nightstand.

"I promise it won't take long."

Cindy grumbled a yes, but felt far from being disappointed or angry. She glanced at herself in the mirror, noting her shimmering eye shadow and plump ponytail. She smiled at her reflection and left her room. On her way down the stairs, she bumped into her mother.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mrs. Vortex lazily drawled.

"Over to Jimmy's lab," Cindy stated.

"What? I thought you hated the boy."

"I do." Cindy wriggled past her mother and leapt out the front door. She quickly crossed the street and snuck into the Neutron's backyard. Once there, she knocked rather loudly on Jimmy's clubhouse door. Not even five seconds had passed when Cindy had felt the ground beneath her feet vanish. She was falling down a huge tube, and her butt was first to hit the solid concrete floor. She stood up, rubbed her sore bottom, and scoured out for that stupid boy.

"Neutron?" she called out. "Neutron?"

"Coming," a voice replied. A boy emerged from the shadows. The dim light of the lab cast a glow about his face, framing his deep blue eyes, button nose, and toothy smile.

"You came," he breathed.

"Of course I came," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not as rude as you think I am."

"Here, have a seat." Jimmy pointed toward a lone chair in the center of the room. Goosebumps began to pop up on Cindy's arms, but she refused to acknowledge them.

"What's this about?"

Jimmy looked down at his hands while Cindy precariously sat on the plain, wooden chair. He refused to make eye contact. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything."

Cindy analyzed him, and upon finding only sincerity, she wondered what she had done or what crazy new experiment he was testing. Either way, she was utterly confused.

"Come again?"

Jimmy gave a small but sad smile. "Who knows what you must truly think of me."

Cindy said nothing to this, and he continued onward in this cathartic way.

"I don't really know why I act the way I do sometimes. I don't ever mean to boast. It just sort of…happens."

"I'll say," Cindy interjected.

"I realize that you perceive me as show-offy, but I merely enjoy the competition."

"At least you recognize me as competition," Cindy muttered. Jimmy looked up to meet Cindy's pensive gaze.

"Cindy, please. Let me finish and you can say whatever you want afterwards."

Cindy held her tongue. She wanted to hear what King Cranium had to say after all.

"Cindy, do you remember the time we accidentally switched bodies?"

"You mean—"

Jimmy held up a hand to stop her. "Please, Cindy," he begged. "Please. So do you remember?" She nodded. "After that experience, I learned something. You know, most of the time we're wrong about each other. I thought you were shallow and snooty while you thought I was a show-off and jerk." Cindy opened her mouth only to immediately shove her fist in it to keep her from talking.

"Obviously our perceptions of each other were wrong. Why can't we just look past our differences?"

Cindy forcefully pulled her large hand out of her mouth with a rather loud pop. "Would you like me to speak now?" she asked, the sarcasm trickling down her tongue like honey.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yes, Ms. Vortex. You have the floor."

"For once in your life, you're right. We misjudged each other. You already know this, but I hate the fact that you came in and took the top spot away from me. I've held that against you, and I probably will always hold that against you. Sorry, Neutron."

"It's ok. I understand."

"Do you? I wouldn't expect Mr. Bigshot to understand what second place feels like." Her hands naturally found their place at her hips.

"Cindy," Jimmy sighed. "Sometimes you are too sarcastic for your own good. Yes, I don't know how you feel, but I understand how it would be difficult for you. You seem to think I'm a robot who can't understand pain and suffering, but I can assure you I feel these emotions on a regular basis."

Cindy hesitated before speaking. "It's me, isn't it?" Jimmy looked away. This was confirmation enough. "Oh Jimmy, I don't mean all of those things I say. Can't you see I say them purely out of envy?"

Jimmy said nothing, but instead, he sat slowly on the ground. Cindy could tell he was lost in thought. If only she could know what was running through his mind.

"What's going on up there?" she tried to say lightheartedly. He wouldn't even look at her. His mind must be working a mile a minute.

"Look at me! What is wrong with you? I'm trying to talk to you!" Cindy began to lose her patience and threatened to leave Jimmy alone, frozen to the floor of his lab. She stood up to leave, but a hand shot out from nowhere to yank her down back to the ground. She collapsed, and once she'd disentangled herself, she glared into Neutrons' deep, innocent, probing…NO. She couldn't think like that. He was the enemy….wasn't he?

"Listen, Cindy. There's something I need to tell you."

"If it's about Quinlan, I'm not listening. I may be a girl, but I don't know how brats like her think."

"It has nothing to do with Betty. It's actually about you." Jimmy broke eye contact and focused on his hands. Cindy was quiet. What could he possibly have to say about her that he hadn't already said?

"I think it's about time I said some things I should have said a long time ago."

"Jimmy, what is this about?" Cindy could feel sweat bubbling up beneath her pulled up hair, but she hadn't the faintest idea why.

He awkwardly paused to look at her, his eyes slightly squinting and his mouth a bit lopsided. "You're a bright girl. Actually, you're the brightest girl I've ever met."

Cindy felt color rise to her cheeks, but she blamed the temperature in Jimmy's lab.

"With that being said, I've always felt the need to compete with you. It was almost as if I needed to prove to you I was smart. Invention after invention was created—heck, I even invented a show-off detector to try and curb my behavior to appease you.

"Cindy, no one has ever made me think harder, act better, or compete as much as you have. I…I actually would like to thank you for that." Jimmy smiled sweetly up at Cindy, and instead of being smacked or stormed out on, Vortex plopped herself down beside Neutron.

"I didn't know you were actually capable of emotions," Cindy admitted. "I guess I always had considered you a bit of a robot. I should have realized how hurtful my actions were. I thought that they were funny, and I always felt a little better afterwards, but deep down I knew it was wrong."

"It's not about being right or wrong, Cindy."

"Shut up and listen to me," she responded, her anger starting to seep out of her body like a toxic spore. "Sorry. I just want you to know that I appreciate what you've said. Jimmy, you never needed to prove anything to me. You're a genius. We all know it. But thanks for admitting you made inventions to impress me." She slyly smiled at the fudge-headed kid.

"It's true," he smiled back. "If you weren't so darn smart, I wouldn't have ever been pushed to compete so hard."

"I'm sorry you were banned from the science fair."

"You make it sound like you had nothing to do with it."

"Which we both know is true. I'm the perfect little girl who does everything she's told," she winked.

"The Vortex I know does her own thing."

"That was is too dangerous nowadays, especially when you're involved."

Jimmy mischievously smiled. "Oh really? The next time you're begging to come on an adventure, I'll remind you of this conversation."

Both fell quiet for a bit as they reflected on their conversation. Neither had yelled. It hadn't turned into an argument, a competition, or a brawl. It had been…normal.

"I like this," Cindy suddenly blurted out. She covered her mouth in humiliation, as if she could put the words back into her mouth, swallow them, and pretend they had never been spoken.

"Me too," he smiled, clearly grateful she had broken the silence.

"Don't expect every conversation to be like this," she warned.

"I don't. That's why I'm enjoying it now." Jimmy closed his eyes in content. Cindy watched as the tension in his face vanished, and a smile formed on his lips. She smiled, but then remembering that it was getting late, regretfully stood up to leave.

"I think I should head back home. My parents will kill me if I stay out too long."

Jimmy's eyes flashed open, and he looked up at Cindy, who was looming over him. "Now? I was just starting to really enjoy you here," he pouted.

Cindy tried to hide a grin. "Thanks, Neutron."

"Can I say one thing then before you go?"

"What is it?" she gently asked.

"Well, I actually want to show you something. Come here." Jimmy offered out his hand, and Cindy delicately took it. An electric wave seemed to have coursed through Cindy's body upon immediate contact with his soft, smooth skin. She was actually holding Jimmy's…oh no! She thought she hated the boy. She did, didn't she? Yes, she loathed him all right. He meant nothing to her. But that nothing _was_ holding her hand.

Jimmy led her outside of the lab and into the dark night. The stars glistened in the sky like twinkling Christmas lights, and Jimmy's hand closed a little more tightly around Cindy's. She sighed.

"Here." He pointed to the ground and bade her sit. She followed his order, and he whipped something out from his pocket. "I call it the Neutroscope. It's a portable telescope that can easily fold up and fit in your pocket. It's very convenient for traveling research, and since I know how much you love astronomy, I've been thinking that maybe you'd like to have it."

Jimmy placed the folded up telescope in Cindy's eager hands. She adoringly gazed at the gift and then up at the giver.

"I was going to give it to you as a peace offering," he sheepishly admitted. "I didn't expect you to call."

"Is this the invention you were working on?" Her fingers delicately traced the Neutron logo that was impressed into the side of the telescope.

"Yes."

She looked at it again and smiled. She carefully unfolded the telescope and peered through one end up into the heavens. She suppressed a gasp as she admired the night sky.

"It's beautiful," she barely whispered.

Jimmy sat next to Cindy and happily watched as she continued to stare at constellations, now and then pointing out one or two for Jimmy to look at through the telescope. Ten minutes had passed in the blink of an eye, and when Cindy finally snapped out of her trance-like phase, she looked to the genius to bid farewell.

"Thank you, Jimmy. I can't believe, out of everyone I know, that you still…care. I don't feel cared for too often, and I really appreciate that you took the time to show me you did."

"You deserve it, Vortex."

"That makes no sense," she happily smiled as she folded up the telescope.

"One does crazy things for lo—I mean, for friends."

Cindy raised a suspicious eyebrow, but she didn't question him or point out that the word he had been about to say sounded like it was going to be love. "You're not such a big-headed dork."

"And you're not such a rude snob," he joked.

Cindy smiled (her face was starting to hurt a bit now). She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He embodied perfection. He gazed at her, also lost in thought. Suddenly, her breath drew short as she leaned in. She was going to do it. She was going to kiss the boy she loathed. She must be insane.

Jimmy noticed her change in behavior and responded enthusiastically to her obvious intention. Both closed their eyes as they slowly leaned in. Cindy began to have doubts, but she was already in so far, she had to finish.

BLEEEEEEEEP!

"Neutron!" she angrily yelled, pulling her head back and angrily folding her arms.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he apologized as he fumbled with his wristwatch to try and silence it.

"Just turn it off!"

"I'm trying!"

"Oh for goodness…I need to go! Goodbye!" She hurriedly stood up and made for home. Before she had gone two steps, Jimmy grabbed her by the hand and placed a light kiss on her cheek.

"Bye Cindy!" he said as he rushed back to his house to sneak in through the backdoor. Cindy instinctively put a hand to her cheek. What a charming, fudge-headed dork that Neutron boy was. Oh, how she hated him.

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><p><strong>Sorry they didn't kiss. It's just so typical that something would keep them from kissing, so Jimmy's wristwatch had a very important role in this one-shot. :P<strong>


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